How good is the Civic Si in snow?

A manual allows you to rock the car when stuck, but I find the control
of power much better with an auto.
I have slightly more yrs experience with a stick shift, but I'll take an
auto for snow driving because I can apply the power very gently.
Be sure to get ABS brakes.

 

You can apply the power even more gently with a stick, once you are
proficient with it.

I have driven auto's all my life. The 06 Si is my first stick, and after
one winter, I much prefer it to an auto.

Put it in second, slowly let out the clutch, apply gas as needed, and roll
right out.

 

So the fact that a manual trans rolls back is a benefit in getting out of
snow? In New England where I am, we get our usual 6-8 inch snow storms,
sometimes less sometimes a little more. Mostly we get frigid weather like
0-20 degrees F and freezing rain and ice storms. I know the car has ABS and
traction control which will help in getting out of snow on a straight line
when going from a stop I would think.

If I decided to get snow tires, could I get 215/60HR 17's and still be okay
even though the car comes with 215/45VR 17's? I dont think the 60HR would
hit the wheel well or throw things off that much do you? That way I can just
keep the same wheels.

My 1990 Miata was driven once in icy weather now that I remember and at the
time I was a novice with manuals. I think there may have been 4" on the
ground and I got stuck getting out of my driveway so I had to leave the car
home and get a ride from my father. I learned to drive a stick in 1990, so
the 1981 VW was bought after that and it was used.

Also does anyone know what power shifting means? I heard about this when
driving a shift, what about double clutching? I would like to learn more
about driving a stick, because even now at 41 I am still a novice not being
exposed to manuals that much.

Thanks,
Al

 

You can rock the car by shifting between 2nd and reverse. It's in the
manual or at least it used to be.

You aren't going to be driving on unplowed roads with 6-8" of snow of
them. Most cars are going to get stuck in that. If they are doing a
half-way decent job of plowing the roads, you should be OK.

You should contact the Tire Rack - they can give you solid advice. I
think a -1 conversion would be better.

I suspect the tires were more of a factor than the transmission.

Power shifting means not lifting off the throttle when you shift. Now
that you know what it is, forget about it.

Double clutching is a better way of downshifting than the method you
are using. Shift into neutral, let out the clutch, rev the engine a
little higher than you expect it to be in the lower gear, put in the
clutch, shift into the lower gear, release the clutch as you take up
power with the throttle. This is smoother and less stress on the
transmission. It sounds cumbersome and clumsy, but with practice it
can be done very quickly and smoothly. When you have that mastered,
we can tell you about heel-and-toe braking.

 

Ok thanks for the advise and information. I'll keep that in mind. I know the
basics of shifting but not all the special techniques. I remember a few
times on my miata i made the mistake of downshifting from 5 to 2 instead of
5 to 4 because I brought the shifter down and to the left one notch too
many.

 

Ouch. Try not to do that. It can be hard on the hood when pieces of
the engine hit it.

 

I like it. My aforementioned 92 civic has antilock brakes, and they
get confused in loose snow and fight any effort to slow the car.
Keeping it in first gear allows the engine to slow the car, which
proves that the antilock brakes are confused. I suppose with a good
automatic, you could do similar, but I don't know how much engine
braking at low speeds you can do with the torque converter.

 

Excellent point; starting in second with gentle clutch for minimal
force applied to the snow.

 

I haven't had much experiece myself with traction control, but being a
passenger in an Odyssey with it, it sure seems like a miracle. As I
said before, I got sour on the ABS in the snow, though.

Sometimes, you actually do have to be careful; my long lamented
Plymouth Sapporo had to take snow tires one step less wide than the
regular tires, because there was just that much more sticking out from
the tread that it would contact things. At least, that's what the
manual said. Might not have applied to all snow tires brands, of
course. If you are going to get snow tires, might as well get a set of
rims to mount them on; otherwise you'll be spending cash and time
having the tires swapped on the rims twice a year.

 

I remember R&T did a test on cars with ALB engaged and disengaged some
years ago. Disabling the ALB generally produced longer stopping and
less control... until they got to glare ice. They really had a slick
track because without ALB it took about 300 feet to stop from 30mph
(as best as I can recall.) With the ALB engaged, the stopping
distance went to 600 feet.

 

Depends on where you buy them.

It's easier to haul and store just the tires than the tires/rims at
switchout time. If they don't charge you for the switch (NTW didn't),
consider that.

 

....but without ALB there was zero control, but with ALB the driver had
control.

It's not about only the stopping distance. 600 feet but I steered away
from the scene of the accident beats 300 feet but I slammed into the
accident.

 

Zero control? You don't have to stand on the brake, just brake enough. I get
plenty of opportunities to drive in ice and snow and have never had a
problem.

If you have enough traction to stop in 300 feet vs. 600 feet, then you have
enough traction to turn out. People get into trouble because they don't know
how to stop and then end up locking their wheels, and there goes control.

 

To tell you the truth, the 1990 Mazda Miata that I had (bought new at the
time) was my first car with a manual transmission. My father had a 1978 Fiat
Pininfarina Azura and an 1988 Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrofolio that I had
driven once or twice prior, but the Miata was my real learning car. I
learned on it and still the clutch lasted me till 75,000 miles. When I would
shift I would always bring the rpms to 4000-4500 which I considered to be a
good shifting point for any gear. My father used to also shift at high rpms.

A couple of things I was wondering if they are safe for the clutch and
transmission:

1. Is it okay to hold the car with the clutch and accelerator on a steep
hill to prevent roll back?

2. Is it okay to ride the clutch while coasting down a hill in tight city
traffic as long as the clutch is in all the way?

3. Is there a reason why some people downshift and REV the engine just after
they shift and before they let out the clutch as opposed to just clutching,
shifting and letting out the clutch?

4. What about if you are in third gear and you coast to a stop and put in
the clutch and then put it in first without going to second gear first?

Thanks,
Al

 

Get the Dodge Caliber srt-4 .Its compact ,has good ground clearance.
300 Hp. And will blow the doors off the civic si. 28mpg highway

 

Yeah, but it's a Crapsler... so it's proven crap.

Next!

 

It's not the best. You are either riding the brakes or using what we used
to call "Georgia overdrive".

Yes. It is because they don't want to be thrown violently towards the
windshield as they let out the clutch on an engine that is running too slow
for the gear selected.

That is just fine. Shifting third, second, first while you are sitting
still is a waste of time. Sometimes I do 4-2 to decelerate while
approaching a light.

Saludos,

Earle

 

Nice looking car, and good numbers, but you'd have to be a fucking loon to
buy a Chrysler product of any kind. My last 3 Dodges went through a total
of 5 trannys and 2 engines, with a total of about 350,000 miles between
them (only one made it over 100K before I finally got smart and ditched
it).

I'll stick with the Si. In 5 years, the car will still run, and the resale
value will be leagues beyond that of the Caliber...

 

In doing so, you are having the clutch disk rubbing continuously against
the pressure plate. That is a lot of wear. If you hold the car with the
brakes, it is static - nothing is moving, and there is no wear. So, the
answer is NO.

While the clutch pedal is depressed, the clutch is being held apart by the
throwout bearing, so there will be some wear (not a lot). However, you
have less control than if you kept it in gear, so I don't know why you
would want to do this. I have heard that in some jurisdictions, it is
illegal, and in others, it could cause you to fail a driver's test.

Matching engine speed to transmission speed makes for a smoother downshift and
less stress on the synchronizers. I do it if driving aggressively.

No problem. Much more common though is forcing the transmission into first
before the car is stopped which is very hard on the first-gear synchro.

In regards to shift speed, a fixed speed doesn't make much sense. If driving
for economy, you want to shift up as soon as possible. On level ground and
with a modern car in North America, that might be as low as 1,000 rpm.
Uphill, or with a peaky engine, it would be higher. As long as the engine
pulls smoothly (no 'lugging'), you are fine. If driving for performance
(max acceleration), you want to be shifting close to redline (once the
engine is warm).

Dan

(This account is not used for email.)

 

Well to tell you the truth I did this a few time, but not that often. Only
in extreme hills. I guess you could also use the emergency brake in case
some doofus is right on your tail and you don't want to hit them rolling
back.

Well I don't think we have laws about that in my state, and I already have a
license so it wouldnt really pertain to me. You only need to get a license
on an automatic and then you can drive a shift car with the same license.

Okay that makes sense.

I think i did that a few times and in the process ground the gears a little.
I guess I wasnt aware that going into 1st gear was only for when you were
already stopped.

Yes alot of times I did shift early, which for me was 3000 rpms, but in some
occasions i shifted at 4500 rpms for a little performance. I don't think I
went beyond 5000 rpms. I have a friend and he has a 2004 PT Cruiser with a 5
speed manual and he always shifts at 2000 rpms or so. Its drives me nuts,
but he says that his car would act badly if he drove it like a performance
car!

Al